St. Louis Cardinals: Carlos Beltran announces retirement

Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran is calling it quits after playing in parts of 20 seasons.

Carlos Beltran brought with him many great memories to add to the minds of the Redbird faithful. Unfortunately, he could not secure a World Series title in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform. Once he hoisted the trophy with Houston in 2017, he reached his mountain top. At that point it was time to leave the game behind.

Now retired, Beltran sits fourth all-time on the home run list among switch hitters with 435 career bombs. It’s quite the accomplishment, among a career of sparkling superlatives. His on field play will be regarded as the top of a generation by many in the baseball community, possibly as one of the best to roam the Cardinal outfield in recent memory.

As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Beltran hit .282 over two years. Along with that came two All-Star appearances. He accumulated nine total in his long career. The accolades continue to grow when talking about his two Silver Slugger and three Gold Glove awards.

Perhaps his most impressive feat came in his official rookie year. In 1999, playing for the Kansas City Royals, Beltran hit .293 in addition to twenty-two homers. That was enough to secure him the Rookie of the Year award. In the process of taking home this hardware, he beat out the likes of Tim Hudson and Carlos Lee.

Through everything else, Beltran will be remembered for his postseason prowess. In seven different postseason appearances, he carried a batting average of .307.  Two of these appearances came with the St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, the Redbirds gave Beltran his only other World Series appearance in 2013. But unfortunately, that resulted in a loss to the Red Sox.

Beltran would certainly appear to be on his way to a Hall of Fame induction, though plenty of time will pass between now and the voting. His HoF monitor stat sits at 126, while the average player in the Hall posts a 100. To further the argument he has a HoF standard grade out of 52, whereas the average is 50.

Next: Don't resign Lance Lynn

It was a great career. I think I speak for the entire staff here at Redbird Rants when I say thank you Carlos Beltran for everything you did throughout your baseball career. We hope retirement treats you well.